Nimlorn

FROM THE MANUSCRIPT · READING EXCERPT

Enter the story

Ripple ate the corner of the measurement sheet before Eira noticed.

She had laid it on the rail for a moment. Now the Neralvan stood with a wet triangular scrap hanging from its mouth. The rest of the sheet darkened beneath one broad lip.

“Give me that.”

Ripple raised its head.

Eira held out a hand. “Those are your measurements.”

From the gate, Rowan said, “I think that’s an objection.”

She caught the paper by its dry edge and waited for the mount to let go. Most of the marks were legible. The measurement she wanted was gone.

“I was checking how far the feet spread.”

“You can still check the feet.”

“I have. I wanted to compare them with last month.”

Rowan leaned against the gate, smiling, a repaired strap over one shoulder. Behind Rowan, Boxy lowered himself into a patch of sun. He turned twice, changed his mind, and settled where he could watch the kitchen door.

Eira spread the damaged sheet on a flat board. A loose strand of dark hair had escaped her braid; she pushed it off her cheek with a damp wrist. Ripple nosed towards the board again.

“No.”

She had been home nearly a year. Letters from Cyrant filled the shelf where she had once kept only the copies she brought back. Some answered questions she had forgotten asking. Others explained why no answer could yet be given. She kept those too, though they were less satisfying to open.

The newest packet had arrived that morning.

Before breakfast she had found a drawing of a small animal with a membrane stretched between its limbs. She had read the accompanying lines three times before going out to Ripple. A morning’s work with the mount might keep her from spending it over the same few words.

Rowan noticed the packet beneath her board.

“Another letter?”

“A copy of six leaves. Or parts of six. The collection reader found them in a separate binding.”

“About Ripple?”

“About living things. He sent the drawing because I asked about the webbing.”

She glanced at Ripple. The mount had abandoned the paper for the gate latch.

“I thought looking at Ripple might help. There’s something in the way the parts fit together that I’m missing.”

Rowan lifted the strap. “I’ve been doing that all morning. So far I’ve found a buckle that pinches.”

“Well, let me know when you’ve solved that one.”

She held the strap while Rowan checked the fastening. By the time Ripple had been fed and the washing hung out of reach, Eira had a second damp mark on her sleeve. She left Rowan at the gate and carried the papers indoors.

Jun had cleared half the table. His papers occupied the rest, held flat by a cup. When she lifted it, he put out a hand.

“There’s still some in there.”

“There’s a skin on it.”

He peered into the cup, then took it from her and made room.

The collection reader had copied the leaves in a compact hand, leaving spaces where the source was damaged. A narrow note mentioned an older version in the monumental script but gave no dependable date or author. The animal drawing occupied the bottom of the second sheet, where the text broke off.

She laid her older creature drawing beside the new copy. The long neck that had first reminded her of Ripple still caught her eye, but she could find nothing in these leaves that explained the resemblance. She moved it aside so it would not cover the words.

She read from the first leaf.

Vek na kar selo. Vek na esh thuro.

Observe the animal’s body. Listen to the animal’s breath.

Ti kar selas. Ti eshun sivas ma?

You observe the body. Do you understand the life-force?

Siveth sor skod nu retho.

Do not take power without understanding.

Mi vek selem senn. Mi vek na eshun nu sivam.

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End of excerpt. This site presents a selection from the manuscript.